# African American vs. Mulatto relaxed hair



## caramelqt3683 (Apr 10, 2008)

I've seen a few differences between relaxed African American and Mullato hair having African American aunts who relax their hair. I've gotten advice on how to take care of it based on if I had thin hair with a flaky scalp. However, my hair is much the opposite. My scalp is oily with the occasional dandruff, tight tiny curls at the roots, dry, breaking, and quite thick/coarse. So what works for them doesn't necessarily work for me as far as their regimen. I was wondering if anyone had hair type specific suggestions. I'm currently using Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment which really makes my hair stronger, softer, and shinier. I'm planning on using the Coconut oil suggestion from earlier posts as well as Dudley's DRC-28. However, with processed hair there is ALWAYS room for improvement. I tried the Ojon shampoo and conditioner - hate it !(Hydrating...ya right!) I've tried many types of conditioners but none seem to condition as I feel they should. I know as long as i relax my hair it will never be anything amazing, but I'd like to at least try to get it as healthy as it can possibly get all things considered. I plan to continue to relax my hair so I'll need some help, going natural isn't an option for me at this point. Normally I shampoo my hair 1-2x/week, condition mainly, brush it up into a bun (while wet - I know




), and then let it air dry. Of course after doing all this my hair is breaking, damaged, and dry. So, having said all that....Can anyone help me to somewhat repair and maintain healthy Mullato hair that is continuously relaxed?

*whew*


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## SewAmazing (Apr 10, 2008)

Pantene has a whole line of products called Relaxed and Natural. They are conditioners and shampoos designed for ethnic hair. These products I highly recommend. I am truly impressed with their results. My hair was literally "fried" and brought back from the brink of disaster without breakage after using these formulas.


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## AppleRose (Apr 10, 2008)

Yeah coconut oil is lovely. Beautiful smell as well!


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## monniej (Apr 10, 2008)

i totally agree with sewamazing! i love my patene for woc for detangling and softness. since you have a relaxer i wonder if you're not washing your hair too often and that is contributing to the dryness. with relaxed hair once a week, or even every other week, washing should be plenty and a deep conditioner when ever you wash is definitely in order! try queen helene cholesterol along with the pantene and/or the ojon and see if that helps.


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## caramelqt3683 (Apr 10, 2008)

Thanks for the suggestions all!



Would you guys also say that I should use a hot oil treatment as well or should the Dudley's DRC-28, Ojon, and Coconut Oil be enough? I don't wanna do too much to my hair and cause more harm than good. But I'll definitely try the Pantene conditioner for WOC and see how it works for me. If you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks again ladies!


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## Jinx (Apr 11, 2008)

Originally Posted by *caramelqt3683* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the suggestions all!



Would you guys also say that I should use a hot oil treatment as well or should the Dudley's DRC-28, Ojon, and Coconut Oil be enough? I don't wanna do too much to my hair and cause more harm than good. But I'll definitely try the Pantene conditioner for WOC and see how it works for me. If you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks again ladies! Umm, I hate the term mulatto- that straight from the plantation, lol!! Remember, your hair is full of lot's of types (I have all of them. Seriously. Mine ranges from fine and straight to coarse kinky z strands); you can't treat just the one small part of your hair. YOU have to determine whether you are going to use shampoo formulated for the oily scalp and use daily leave ins for the dryness or vice verse. 

It will take a lot of trial and error and back up plans for when your hair decides to change it's behavior, lol!!

Anyway, check out this site and see if you can get some ideas; she has a good photo history of her own hair's trauma and she explains how she recovered it.

And it is extremely simple; no piling on tons and tons of product (when too much stuff is put on mixed hair it is almost as bad as NOT putting anything on it at all), very low maintenence-

Welcome


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## caramelqt3683 (Apr 12, 2008)

Apologies, Jinx, if i offended.

I checked out the article. The difference though is that she has natural hair, mine is relaxed. Some things she mentioned were helpful but obviously I'll still need to experiment on my own to find out what works best for me as you said. I just bought the Pantene Prov for WOC and I'm not really all that thrilled. I'll give it time and see if I don't change my mind. Another conditioner I'll probably try if the Pantene ends up not being for me is the HSH Soy Milk conditioner and Pumpkin Potion leave in. Thank you all for the suggestions!


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## Jinx (Apr 13, 2008)

Originally Posted by *caramelqt3683* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Apologies, Jinx, if i offended. 
I checked out the article. The difference though is that she has natural hair, mine is relaxed. Some things she mentioned were helpful but obviously I'll still need to experiment on my own to find out what works best for me as you said. I just bought the Pantene Prov for WOC and I'm not really all that thrilled. I'll give it time and see if I don't change my mind. Another conditioner I'll probably try if the Pantene ends up not being for me is the HSH Soy Milk conditioner and Pumpkin Potion leave in. Thank you all for the suggestions!

Eh, just a weird little peeve of mine; that whole mulatto, quadroon, octaroon thing just reminds me of stories froom "those days".



I didn't see the part where you said you were relaxed.. Hmmm..

Have you tried Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat shampoo?

It's a botanical shampoo with no sls, it has tea tree and peppermint oils in it (among others) and it really stimulates the scalp (oooh, but be super careful not to get it in or around your EYES!! Augh!).

Buy Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo Online at drugstore.com

I have found it at stores with health sections and at some Rite Aids, as well as online.


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## caramelqt3683 (Apr 14, 2008)

I'm actually trying a no-poo system. It seems no matter what kinda shampoo I've used, it always made my hair dry regardless of the conditioner I used afterward. Also, I noticed that when I do oil treatments, my hair gets super dry. Is that normal? I actually had to use a bit more Ojon restorative hair treatment than normal to get my hair conditioned and even then it was still somewhat dry... And I haven't been using any heat or anything on my hair. I rinse, condition/deep condition, leave in conditioner, Biosilk silk therapy, ojon, and then air dry. Am I missing something here? lol


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## KatJ (Apr 14, 2008)

How often do you deep condition or use treatments?


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## caramelqt3683 (Apr 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *mrs.jones1217* /img/forum/go_quote.gif How often do you deep condition or use treatments? I deep condition/oil treatment once a week.


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## KatJ (Apr 14, 2008)

When i worked at Sally Beauty this is the one item that I reccommended the most.

Profectiv - MegaGrowth Anti-Breakage Strengthener

And, you know as well as I do, you need to stop doing the wet bun thing, lol. I would also only wash once a week, or every other week if possible.


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## Jinx (Apr 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *caramelqt3683* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm actually trying a no-poo system. It seems no matter what kinda shampoo I've used, it always made my hair dry regardless of the conditioner I used afterward. Also, I noticed that when I do oil treatments, my hair gets super dry. Is that normal? I actually had to use a bit more Ojon restorative hair treatment than normal to get my hair conditioned and even then it was still somewhat dry... And I haven't been using any heat or anything on my hair. I rinse, condition/deep condition, leave in conditioner, Biosilk silk therapy, ojon, and then air dry. Am I missing something here? lol Hmm.Maybe your hair doesn't want all that product on it? 

I know what you mean about oil treatments, coconut oil worked very well for me, but olive oil made my hair so brittle it broke WHILE I was applying the oil to my hair. No thanks.

Have you been to LHCF? 

Although I have ill feelings towards their admin staff, the ladies who are members have a lot of suggestions and treatments that you might find helpful.

I have a tendancy to keep my hair care extremely basic and as little product as possible because my hair gets worse with too much stuff. It needs air to breathe, I guess.


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## caramelqt3683 (Apr 14, 2008)

I've actually only been washing my hair once a week for years now. I try to condition as much as possible and throw it up in a bun. I don't really mess with my hair much other than that. And I only use the silk therapy when i straighten which is like maybe once or twice a month... So its really not that much product. My hair just doesn't want to grow and can't get enough moisture for some reason. Maybe I need a protein treatment? I'm planning on getting the Dudley's DRC-28 but damn its hard to get my hands on and expensive!


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## Jinx (Apr 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *caramelqt3683* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've actually only been washing my hair once a week for years now. I try to condition as much as possible and throw it up in a bun. I don't really mess with my hair much other than that. And I only use the silk therapy when i straighten which is like maybe once or twice a month... So its really not that much product. My hair just doesn't want to grow and can't get enough moisture for some reason. Maybe I need a protein treatment? I'm planning on getting the Dudley's DRC-28 but damn its hard to get my hands on and expensive! Do you have to do touch ups on your relaxer? If so, then clearly the problem isn't that it's not growing, the problem is that you are not retaining your growth- usually the culprit is dryness causing breakage or rough handling causing breakage.Sometimes air drying doesn't work for everyone. Obviously you need to use something to seal in the moisture while it's still wet, but sometimes even doing that won't work and the air drying can make it even more dry.

Have you tried cholesteral? Like, the Queen Helene stuff? It's hella cheap and then you just slap a glob of that stuff on your hair, plop on a processing cap- again, hella cheap- and sit under a dryer for 20 minutes (or a heated towel if you don't have a hood or bonnet dryer) then rinse.

Head on over to longhaircareforum.com and see if there are any ideas that are do-able for ya, because I'm starting to run out of ideas, lol!!!!

Oh yeah, make sure you are drinking lot's and lot's of water and taking in the recommended amounts of omega 3's because they WILL help give your hair moisture and strength- that's part of what omega 3's do.


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## monniej (Apr 15, 2008)

jinx is so right. my hair would be one giant frizz ball without a good moisturizer! i also second the queen helene rec! cheap price with amazing results! again, another great point about your water comsumption. 50-64oz a day can make an amazing difference in your skin and hair!


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## caramelqt3683 (Apr 15, 2008)

Well, that's definitely one problem...water consumption. I don't drink nearly enough. And I'm working on remembering my vitamins everyday so I'm sure that'll help. As far as the cholesterol, would you use that with coconut oil or in place of it? I got the coconut oil already since I heard such good things about it. Are they both supposed to be rinsed out or left in?


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## Jinx (Apr 15, 2008)

Originally Posted by *caramelqt3683* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, that's definitely one problem...water consumption. I don't drink nearly enough. And I'm working on remembering my vitamins everyday so I'm sure that'll help. As far as the cholesterol, would you use that with coconut oil or in place of it? I got the coconut oil already since I heard such good things about it. Are they both supposed to be rinsed out or left in? The cholesteral is used on it's own as a deep conditioning treatment- although I'd be willing to combine the two to see how that works, lol!Definitely rinse the cholesteral, it is very heavy- like Crisco- you don't want to leave that in your hair, plus to me, the smell is not something I'd want to deal with all day. It's not awful, just not nice.

The coconut oil (assuming you got the pure, unrefined stuff that also looks like Crisco, but melts in your hand) can be left in because it's light- as long asa you are just taking a bit on your fingertips and just toucing your ends or problem areas and not taking globs and slathering it all over you hair, in THAT case I would put a heated towel on it for 15-20 minutes then rinse it out.

And drink your water, young missy!!!!!





Yesss, I know it's hard sometimes. I forget a lot as well- even if I bring a bottle of water in the car with me, I have been known to forget I had it.



Just get a filter pitcher and put it in the fridge and you'll have cool, filtered water anytime and use that to fill bottles to carry around and hopefully the habit will stick.


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## Lia (Apr 15, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Jinx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Umm, I hate the term mulatto- that straight from the plantation, lol!! Remember, your hair is full of lot's of types (I have all of them. Seriously. Mine ranges from fine and straight to coarse kinky z strands); you can't treat just the one small part of your hair. YOU have to determine whether you are going to use shampoo formulated for the oily scalp and use daily leave ins for the dryness or vice verse. 

It will take a lot of trial and error and back up plans for when your hair decides to change it's behavior, lol!!

Anyway, check out this site and see if you can get some ideas; she has a good photo history of her own hair's trauma and she explains how she recovered it.

And it is extremely simple; no piling on tons and tons of product (when too much stuff is put on mixed hair it is almost as bad as NOT putting anything on it at all), very low maintenence-

Welcome

Thanks for the website! The girl's hair is amazing - although my hair isn't very curly like that, it's surely an inspiration!


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## caramelqt3683 (Apr 15, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Jinx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif The cholesteral is used on it's own as a deep conditioning treatment- although I'd be willing to combine the two to see how that works, lol!Definitely rinse the cholesteral, it is very heavy- like Crisco- you don't want to leave that in your hair, plus to me, the smell is not something I'd want to deal with all day. It's not awful, just not nice.

The coconut oil (assuming you got the pure, unrefined stuff that also looks like Crisco, but melts in your hand) can be left in because it's light- as long asa you are just taking a bit on your fingertips and just toucing your ends or problem areas and not taking globs and slathering it all over you hair, in THAT case I would put a heated towel on it for 15-20 minutes then rinse it out.

And drink your water, young missy!!!!!





Yesss, I know it's hard sometimes. I forget a lot as well- even if I bring a bottle of water in the car with me, I have been known to forget I had it.



Just get a filter pitcher and put it in the fridge and you'll have cool, filtered water anytime and use that to fill bottles to carry around and hopefully the habit will stick.

Yes ma'am!



I'll be working on full body health instead of just hair health much more strictly from here on. Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions! I really appreciate it.


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## GracieAnn (Apr 22, 2008)

Originally Posted by *caramelqt3683* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've seen a few differences between relaxed African American and Mullato hair having African American aunts who relax their hair. I've gotten advice on how to take care of it based on if I had thin hair with a flaky scalp. However, my hair is much the opposite. My scalp is oily with the occasional dandruff, tight tiny curls at the roots, dry, breaking, and quite thick/coarse. So what works for them doesn't necessarily work for me as far as their regimen. I was wondering if anyone had hair type specific suggestions. I'm currently using Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment which really makes my hair stronger, softer, and shinier. I'm planning on using the Coconut oil suggestion from earlier posts as well as Dudley's DRC-28. However, with processed hair there is ALWAYS room for improvement. I tried the Ojon shampoo and conditioner - hate it !(Hydrating...ya right!) I've tried many types of conditioners but none seem to condition as I feel they should. I know as long as i relax my hair it will never be anything amazing, but I'd like to at least try to get it as healthy as it can possibly get all things considered. I plan to continue to relax my hair so I'll need some help, going natural isn't an option for me at this point. Normally I shampoo my hair 1-2x/week, condition mainly, brush it up into a bun (while wet - I know




), and then let it air dry. Of course after doing all this my hair is breaking, damaged, and dry. So, having said all that....Can anyone help me to somewhat repair and maintain healthy Mullato hair that is continuously relaxed?
*whew*

OK it sounds like your hair is similar to my hair. Shampoo - Creme of Nature for Dry Brittle hair (green bottle)

Deep Conditioner - Queen Helen Cholesterol Conditioner but a plastic cap on your head and use with either a heating cap or bonnet style hair dryer for 30-45 mins (I use a heating cap)

Leave in Conditioner -

Oil - esp. the ends (olive oil or coconut oil) - use daily

Do *NOT* brush wet hair you will cause breakage

If you continue to get breakage ....

the next time you are getting ready to wash your hair scramble 2 eggs and apply it to your hair (before you wet it) put a plastic cap on and let it sit for 2hrs. rinse in with lukewarm water. Apply a conditioner (like VO5) and rinse. Shampoo w/creme of nature. Use a regular conditioner or a reconstructor with heat. Do a leave in conditioner then oil.

Let me know how it turns out.


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## GracieAnn (Apr 22, 2008)

They do however they are costly and results are minimal


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## monniej (Apr 22, 2008)

Originally Posted by *caramelqt3683* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm actually trying a no-poo system. It seems no matter what kinda shampoo I've used, it always made my hair dry regardless of the conditioner I used afterward. Also, I noticed that when I do oil treatments, my hair gets super dry. Is that normal? I actually had to use a bit more Ojon restorative hair treatment than normal to get my hair conditioned and even then it was still somewhat dry... And I haven't been using any heat or anything on my hair. I rinse, condition/deep condition, leave in conditioner, Biosilk silk therapy, ojon, and then air dry. Am I missing something here? lol sounds like you might be missing a moisturizer to apply to your hair while it's wet. i love dark and lovely naturally chamomile moisturizer. i apply it to my wet hair (more like slather, actually! lol~) and follow with a anti frizz gel. i can't imagine how dry my hair would be without that moisturizer. i think ouidad makes a pretty good one if you have thicker hair.
i just went back and re-read this post. sorry, i just said the same thing twice!


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